The Covenant
by UnwrittenMemory
Summary: Living in a slummy village outside of Castanet, Angela prepares for the results of the Choosing. A process that will change her life forever. TobyxAngelax?
1. The Walk

**The Covenant**

Hey guys! I'm back with another AU Harvest Moon story. I write super in the moment stories, so I can't give away too much of how this will turn out. Your guess is as good as mine, but I always liked that about writing. It's a way to get out the trials of everyday life into a beautiful fantasy aside your own personal story. Anyway, please follow along this journey with me and as always, read and review!

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Her feet were heavy. It seemed like every step she took on the pavement shook the ground beneath her as she walked. She was headed home, after a long day of pictures, and waiting, and meeting important people, and doing all kinds of things that she honestly hated doing. The process took all day, and the sun was setting fast. She knew she had to be home before dark. 'They know I live in this neighborhood, why they let it take so long is beside me.' She looked at her watch, ten minutes until the sirens.

Today was the day that most girls dreamed of. Today was Choosing Day. A day where the royals' brought beautiful women into court and gave them titles in hopes to marry them off and spread the Castanet blood. To Angela, it seemed shallow, and she was completely content where she was.

"Hey, Angela!" A boy called after her. "Wait up! Why do you walk so dang fast!" He joked, catching up to her, grabbing her arm gently. Angela looked up at him as she turned and stopped, the sunset gleaming in her soft brown hair. "I saw you walking a few blocks away. I was waiting for you from the Town Directory, but I obviously had to wait until you were away from the security clearance to talk to you."

"Oh, Toby." She sighed wrapping her arm around his waist and took in his features as she glanced up at him. He was always so calm and collected, almost the exact opposite of her.

"Was it that bad...?" He questioned, placing a sweet and gentle kiss on her forehead, putting his arm around her shoulders as well as they walked.

She snuggled deeply into his chest and breathed his scent. "How unlucky am I?"

"Angela. You aren't the only girl that had to do this today. The likelihood of you being chosen to wed one of the royal family is slim. Even more so to the Prince." She knew he was right. Any girl in the kingdom, seventeen and eighteen had to go through this today. But why her? Things were finally going the way she had wanted them to for a long time.

"I know, Toby. But, I'm the only girl who doesn't want that life. I don't have family that I need to take care of, so their promises of moving them to a better life is meaningless. And could you believe that they sent everyone home early except me and a few other girls? I'm not naïve, I know what that means.."

His heart sank, he too, knew what that meant. "Angela. I know this isn't what you are wanting to hear. Not even slightly, but, if you get that letter, you go. There is nothing for you here. Over there, it's a better life, they can promise you things that I can't. Do you understand?" One single tear fell down his cheek as the street light in front of their adjacent homes came on.

"Nothing except for you." She replied, removing her arm from his waist and crossing them in front of her chest, hiding her goosebumps from the early Autumn chill. His arm moved to one shoulder, and his other hand went up to the other one.

"Have I told you, that you are the most beautiful girl in the world?" He asked, eyes piercing through hers, leaning down inches before her face. They had never shared a real kiss before, it was something forbidden until a man and a woman become of age, and since this was the first Choosing Ceremony since the King's, it was forbidden among women of age similar to the Prince. But it didn't mean she didn't want it to be Toby. She leaned up towards him, their breath was warming each other's lips as the outside world got darker. Angela placed one hand on the side of Toby's face and leaned even closer, their lips were centimeters from touching.

Then the siren rang. One minute until they had to be in their homes. Toby pulled back and smiled a toothy, cheesy smile and ran his hand through his silver blue hair. "Hey, meet me by the string tonight?" He asked and Angela nodded, giving him a quick hug before running to her home. A second siren went off, thirty seconds now. She reached for her keys and opened her door, feeling each vibration from the latch. Closing the door behind her, she sank to her knees, the final siren went off and the shrieking began. She didn't know what happened to the people who stayed outside after the sirens, she never pushed it far enough to find out. And luckily she had always had Toby there to see her to her home, especially after her parents had passed away.

It was her and four other girls that stood there in the waiting room after everyone else had been dismissed. A beautiful young woman with curly red hair like she had never seen before. Eighteen. A pair of sisters were to her right, not that you could tell. One was small, with naturally pink hair. She talked a lot, to her sister who's mind seemed elsewhere. Her sister was tall and slim, and had a very gentle face.

Then there was the final girl. A woman she knew well. Kathy. Angela was glad to see her, even though it had been months since they had talked. She stood alone in the corner, in the same boat as Angela. With someone she loved on the outside. His name was Owen. Toby and Owen talked frequently enough for Angela to know that Owen was heartbroken over even the thought of Kathy leaving. But it was the life in Castanet. Angela only hope that Toby was as broken as she was over the Choosing.

Angela stood up and collected herself. Tonight was the night she as going to let Toby know how she felt, truly. If she were to get picked, she needed him to know.

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And there is chapter one, guys. I hope you enjoyed it! Hopefully I can get the next chapter out soon. Please let me know what you thought, or think. Please R&R, and have a good rest of the day!


	2. The Talk

**The Talk**

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Angela sat down at her vanity upstairs. It was one of the only nice pieces of furniture that her parents left her, at least the only one she hasn't sold to keep up on her rent. Luckily it wasn't much, her rent, but with the decline of the soil deposits in Castanet, she wasn't bringing in as much money from her farm, either. She looked up at the clock on the wall, seven minutes until she had to meet Toby at the string. Angela stared at her face, pinching her cheeks, and roughing up her hair, and she sighed. It was seven minutes more than she needed.

Looking at the window, she saw his beautiful silver hair sticking up in his bedroom window, and she smiled. For the first time since she had been dropped off. And she realized, he was the only thing anymore that gave her life. _'How long has he been waiting there?'_ She got up from her seat, stealing one last look at the mirror before heading towards the window.

Angela sat down, back against the wall. Breathing deeply, she held the two cups, placing one on her ear, and the other at her mouth. "Hello?" She breathed.

He scrambled for the make-shift phone. "Hello? Angela?" He whispered back. "We're early tonight." He laughed, quietly.

"I know," She said back. "But I wanted some extra time with you tonight. They said it would only be one day that they need to decide... And I wanted to talk to you." She twiddled her thumbs, hoping he would start the next conversation that she longed for. Hoping also, that she wouldn't yell out how she was feeling. It was delicate, that needed to be handled carefully.

Toby sighed, audibly. He knew the process... They needed to get everything done quickly. It made him so incredibly sad. He knew Angela was the most beautiful person he has ever known, inside and out, this was confirmation of that. "Angela, I need you to listen to me, and listen to me carefully. We can't be anything here. We only just turned seventeen two months ago, and this whole process has stopped us from getting closer- And if you get chosen? We will never be anything. We have to stop this. And it's unfortunate, but you will not turn his down because of me."

Her heart sank. "Toby..." She called quietly. "I just want you to know... I love you... And... I'm sorry for thinking that that might have been an option... I have to go." She tore the cups off of the string, and tossed the string out of the window. She curled her legs to her chest and let the tears fall down her cheeks. 'Why was this so hard?' Something every other woman in the country wanted, but not her. She was content with her life, as downtrodden she may be right now. They had always talked about working their way up, it wasn't impossible to do. They both worked hard every single day, and saved every penny they earned. They ate the vegetables she had grown in the garden and the fish that Toby caught in the stream, every day. Except today, they didn't have the extra few hours that they usually did.

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"Ang..?" He called into the phone, but it was useless, she had already put the cup down. He felt a tug at the string and turned toward the window, watching her tear the cup off of the string and throw it out of the window. And that when he really knew that she shared the same feelings as him. And at that moment, he became more desperate than he ever has been. "I love you too."

Toby threw his shoes on and looked out of the window leading towards their backyards. He didn't know what was out there at night, but he knew that Angela's back door stayed unlocked. He looked at the clock, they had only talked for a few minutes, it was only a little past eight. The guards were still patrolling the street outside, but they wouldn't see him through their adjoining fences. He quietly opened up his window. It was hard, and it squeaked, but he got it open. He swung both legs over and climbed down quickly, ducking behind the fences and keeping his head down. He ran to the other side of the fence and felt around for the hole that he and Angela made when they were much younger. When her parents were alive.

Toby lived on his own since he was young. He had a grandfather that he remembered, but not much else. His grandfather got sick, and his brother went to live away somewhere, long before Castanet became what it is today. He had heard stories of the Harvest Goddess ruling this land before there was a king in power. It is said that the people of previous generations slowly forgot about her, one by one, until she had no power left and wilted away. He looked around, ten years ago this place was as green and vibrant as can be, but something switched.

He heard something in the bushes as soon as he found the hole and turned his head. "Toby.." It called. He saw the flickering light, floating there. Thinking it was Angela, he rushed over there.

"Ang?" He whispered. "Is that you?" As he got closer, he realized that it wasn't. But, that it didn't look scary either. It was a glowing red little... Person? Toby jumped back.

"Please... Don't be frightened." It said quietly. "I've been back here for a long time waiting for you guys. You don't remember me, do you..?" Toby shook his head indicating no, and the little creature looked sad. "I believe it, once the Harvest Goddess was lost, you and Angela stopped coming to see me."

"Me and, Angela?" He called out.

"You used to come out here all the time, especially when the stars were out. You would sit here by this old tree and just talk. I would say, you two have a bright future ahead of you. I can see it still. But once she was gone, it seems everyone stopped coming outside, everyone stopped caring about our earth. But, I think you can change that. Please get her to believe again." The little creature began to fade.

"Wait!" Toby almost yelled, before composing himself again. "What is your name?" The creature disappeared altogether. A piece of paper falling from the sky where he was. Toby picked it up, but it was too dark to read it out here. He continued on his path towards Angela's. Thinking about what to say to her, what he would say first.

He crawled through the hole in the fence and reached her back door, opening it and closing it behind him. It had been only yesterday that he was last in here, but a new feeling of nostalgia waved over him. Almost like he remembered their entire beings together. Angela had been in his life since he was born. "I need to get to the bottom of this." He whispered an headed up the stairs.

Angela heard someone open her back door. She reached behind her vanity and grabbed her bat, heading to investigate. She had always told herself in this situation, she would just hide, but a feeling of calmness overcame her and she did what she didn't think she would do.

She stood behind the door as the footsteps creeped up her stairs, one by one. "Angela?" The voice called out. She breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the bat, immediate tears forming in her eyes.

She opened the door and he rushed into her, lifting her off of the ground and breathing in her scent. "I love you too." He breathed softly into her ear, moving her hair out of her face with his nose, and kissing her on the ear, continuing down to her mouth, stopping just before he got to her lips. He looked her in the eyes. "I will never let you go. Even if you get chosen, I will work my way up to you... Please just wait for me." And at that point, they both leaned into one another and kissed for the first time in their whole life. Continuing the kiss, he carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently. He put his forehead onto hers and lifted her arms above her head, tangling his fingers into hers. "I love you, and I'm sorry for being stupid, and saying stupid things."

"I forgive you." She whispered quietly, her eyes never leaving his. "We'll find a way." She moved her mouth closer to his, twitching at the thought of his kiss, craving another. He went the rest of the space between their mouths, closing his eyes, and wishing to be in that spot forever.

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Hey everyone, thanks for the reads! Please review and let me know what you all think!

Helen; Ah! Gill is the prince! But Chase will DEFINITELY be in this fic and coming up super soon too. Thanks for the review!The


	3. The Choice

**The Choice**

I do not own Harvest Moon or any of the characters. I only own the new ideas presented in this story.

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Finn floated outside of Angela's two story window that night, long after Toby snuck back over to his own house. In the chaos of that night, Toby had forgotten to say anything to Angela about the little creature he had seen, keeping the note that Finn left behind tucked deeply into his pocket.

He knew that they, the Harvest Sprites left behind after the Harvest Goddess had wilted away, were the reason for the curfew. People were scared of what they didn't know, it had always been like that. Once the government knew that the sprites were still around, they ordered curfew after a certain time to keep the residents in the dark. There were still a few straggler believers, mostly elderly people, and people with the power in them to overcome. Finn believed that Toby and Angela were two of those people. He thought back to the time when Angela's parents were around, her mother would tell them stories of the Harvest Goddess, Finn loved sitting back and listening to her serene voice. She would tell them of an even more beautiful, natural world that even back then, they weren't used to. Crystal clear waters, beautiful fruit trees, cherry blossoms a far as the eye could see. She always told them that the Harvest Goddess was real, and that they had to believe. But one day, they took her and Angela's father away, and they never came back. Finn didn't know if they were coming back, or when, but it had been ten years now and quickly the two friends became consumed in their work, and forgot all about the little sprite, and more importantly, the Harvest Goddess.

Finn looked into the window at Angela. It was close to midnight, she was still awake. Sitting on the bed, a picture in her hands. He has been out too long tonight, incredibly exhausted he flew back towards his little home in the tree in Toby's backyard that had been his home for centuries. Tonight wasn't the first time Finn had tried to contact Angela and Toby, and he didn't know why Toby had seen him tonight over all the other nights. But he knew that tonight more than ever, Toby was desperate. Sighing, Finn drifted off into a slumber, hoping his message would get to Angela.

"Why did you have to leave..." Angela whispered as she ran her hand over the picture of her mother and father. She needed them now, more than anything. "You were always here. When Toby's parent's died. When his grandfather got ill. You took him in. We were all happy. But then you left. You didn't even say goodbye..." She got up from the bed and walked to the vanity, grabbing her knapsack. She wrote down a few things on a piece of paper, and folded that along with two pictures- the one of her and her parents and one of Toby, placing them into her pack. She looked around for some other things that she might need, and carefully packed her belongings away before tucking back into bed. If she was getting chosen, tomorrow was going to be a long day. Her and Toby talked about the what-if's of tomorrow, and she was somewhat coming to terms with leaving, not happy, but to terms.

Her dreams consisted of lavish things that night. Marble walls, giant palaces, huge gardens that she didn't have to tend to, dinners enough to feed the whole town, twice. But they had her turning and tossing in her sleep, to her? They were nightmares. She loved being a simple country girl. Her life felt like it was going to change forever, and the more she dreamt about it, the more the thought lingered in her mind, the more the feeling of dread washed over her. She didn't want to wake up, and when the sun was so high that her eyelids turned red and she opened her eyes, tears almost immediately formed in her eyes.

She looked at the clock on the wall. Five minutes until seven. It was Saturday, her and Toby's day off, luckily there were farmers who cared for her gardens so she could have a day to rest in the Summer. She looked over to the window, Toby was sitting in bed, his head in his hands. She felt horrible, but couldn't imagine his pain. She was going to be somewhere, be something, but she was going to be surrounded by people. Toby was going to be alone, the only friend he's had in his life, the only family was going to be gone. He looked up to her and smiled, standing up and walking towards the window. "Hey beautiful!" He called as he opened the window, letting the short breeze filter through his soft hair.

"Toby! Good morning!" She called as happily as she could. Last night, when they were laying in bed, amongst everything else they had talked about, not hanging out today was also one of them. They figured it was not a good idea since them being seen together right now probably isn't for the best.

"Good morning!" He called back, before quickly turning his head to the front of their houses, with a puzzled look, and before Angela could ask why, a loud knock rang from her front door. She looked to Toby as he quickly closed his window, making a heart with his hands. He walked away from his window at that point.

Angela ran down the stairs, pulling her hair into a half ponytail and skidded to a stop just before the door. Her heart raced. 'You can do this.' She told herself, opening the door.

Standing before her was a very handsome young man, aged similar to her. He was a blonde, dressed to the nines.

"Angela Thomas?" The boy questioned, taking in her appearance as well, lightening his face as he did so. "I'm sorry if I've gotten the wrong house. They said she was the only one who lived here." Angela looked out to the large vehicle parked on her street and smiled towards the man, feeling extremely underdressed standing next to him.

"N- no, I'm sorry, that, that is me. I'm Angela." She managed to squeeze out.

He bowed to her, cheeks slightly rosy. "I was there yesterday. When you all came in, I didn't recognize you with your hair pulled up. You're beautiful, regardless." Angela looked down to her ragged sandals and up to her white sundress that she had managed to throw on, and immediately felt taken aback and crossed her arms, rubbing her upper arms lightly.

"I'm Gill." He stated, moving his head down to look her in the face. "Prince Gill." He said, slowly. "I'm here to offer you and a few other girls the invitation to join me as a royal in the Castle de Castanet." Angela didn't move. She had already known she was going to be chosen, but hearing it out loud, officially, caught her off guard.

"I thought we had a few more days..." She whispered towards him, now looking him in the eye. Her face was red but Gill couldn't tell that it was from anger, and not joy.

"We can discuss the formalities when we arrive at the Castle, but, from what I can tell you, the royal's were very pleased." Gill shuffled his feet. More perceptive of emotion, Angela placed her hand on his shoulder.

"This isn't ideal, but I'll do it without a fight." She whispered and he smiled. 'He isn't happy either...' "I'll go get my things." She turned and he grabbed her hand slightly.

"You are the most beautiful..." He said in a thankful tone, quietly. "I know why she picked you."

Angela closed the door behind her when he let go of her arm. "She?" She questioned, whispering. Shaking it off, she trotted upstairs to grab her knapsack, running into Toby as she got to her room.

"Toby?" She asked.

"So this is it huh..." He smiled, hugging her tightly, tighter than he ever had before and he planted a kiss on her forehead and stepped back, handing her what she came up there for. "I left you something in the bag, it's a letter." She reached in and he stopped her, grabbing her arm and softly squeezing. "Don't read it until you get to the castle and it's safe."

"Toby... We can't make it harder on ourselves." She said, stepping back. He nodded, shooting her that perfect toothy smile of his.

"I'll take care of the house for you, and make sure your plants get watered every single day." He stated, even though they had talked about it last night. She smiled at his kindness. "I love you, Angela." He whispered.

"You better." She smiled back.

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The car ride to the castle was long and it only stopped to let passengers in. First was the beautiful redhead with freckles. Angela learned that her name was Maya, and that she talked way too much. Then the sisters climbed in together. One was quiet, Candace, and one seemed enamored with the process and couldn't keep her eyes off of the prince, who sat next to Angela the whole time not saying a word.

Angela fiddled with the letter in her bag, only stopping when she caught a glance from Gill. She was waiting for Kathy. They were parked outside of her house for what seemed to be an eternity, before the puffy eyed blonde stepped into the car, finding her seat on the other side of Angela, grabbing her knee gently.

"Finally." Yelled the short one, Luna. "How much longer do we have?" She asked directing her answer to anyone.

"About a half a day." Gill stated, without looking up even once. Luna crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. And that was how the whole car ride went. Maya and Luna trying to see how loud the other was and trying to top it, Angela assumed. Candace looking at her shoes, probably in agony sitting in between the former two. Angela and Kathy shooting each other knowing glances, and Gill looking out of the window occasionally pointing out a landmark to the girls.

And it was all too much for Angela. She just wanted to be home, in the house she grew up in, with the boy she grew up with.

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Thanks for reading and reviewing, guys! I hope soon I can get up longer chapters and get into more juicy details. This is a pretty important chapter though, and I thoroughly enjoy how it turned. Have an awesome night, guys!

Cotton Candy Mareep; I hope this answered some of your questions! I'm not sure who Chase is going to be in this story, but he is definitely going to be someone important. As is Gill when it comes to the Harvest Goddess/Harvest Sprites side story. Let me know how you are feeling about it so far, and thanks for the review!


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